I recently had a reading week between writing and edits. I love to do this because it’s inspiring to read others’ work and because it gives my head a break from writing or editing. There’s a lot of editing in my life at the moment because I’ve fitted in my exciting new cozy series, so I have to make sure my thinking is clear and my mind’s a bit empty.

Of course, meditation and exercise help this so much. But reading in peace is a big deal for me. Outside, lying on my tummy. In the sunshine. On a balcony.

I was recently given two books by friends and I have to admit, I loved both of them in a ten-out-of-ten, five stars, this book is life-changing kind of way.

The first book is Ripening by Sharon Blackie. It’s about how fairy stories inform our own lives, especially those of women. Before the ‘people pleasing princess’ syndrome became a thing, the old stories told us about danger and self-reliance, caution and the opportunity to come back twice as strong. These were tales from across the globe, from our peasant ancestors, rich in metaphors and messages. Dr Blackie is steeped in Jung and neuroscience, and her interpretation of these stories is one of our potential growth, fulfilment and empowerment. She looks at the treatment of women at the hands of various archetypes: the caring father, the step mother, the wolf, and takes the reader through a journey of trauma and danger to renewal and strength.

I loved it.

Then I read Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song. Oh wow! It’s a dystopian tale set in Dublin, following the life of mother-of-four Eilish as her life falls apart and the city slides into totalitarianism.

Looking at online reviews, I think the novel can’t be for everybody. Some readers struggled with the style, the fact that Paul Lynch didn’t punctuate his conversation. Instead, we have the rattle of fast exchanges of words, gripping writing, and for me it worked so well. The concept was fascinating. What happens if rules suddenly change? If your trade union husband is taken away, interrogated, and then disappears. What will you do to keep your family safe?

This book was a page turner in every sense. It made my pulse race and my sense of empathy twitch at every new chapter. It was pacy and terrifyingly plausible. At times it was heartbreaking, devastating, shocking. The scene where Eilish discovers her son was written so well, visual and visceral, and it took my breath away. And the ending, while maybe not perfect, said it all for me. Five fat stars.

A dystopian nightmare set in modern, middle-class Dublin. I’m sure Orwell would have loved it. I did.